Well, the first time I ran into the term religion, people were asking whether you had any. You know, some people had religion and some people didn't have religion.

Quote by Bernice Johnson Reagon

Topics: Bernice Johnson Reagon Quotes

There is nowhere you can go and only be with people who are like you....

There is nowhere you can go and only be with people who are like you....

I started graduate school in 1971, I started working at the Smithsonian in the festival...

I started graduate school in 1971, I started working at the Smithsonian in the festival...

But I'm a historian. I wasn't interested in just being a producer, I was interested...

But I'm a historian. I wasn't interested in just being a producer, I was interested...

It makes sense that whatever the topic is, it's more compelling if you can provide...

It makes sense that whatever the topic is, it's more compelling if you can provide...

If I had been at a University I don't think I would have been able...

If I had been at a University I don't think I would have been able...

I think the Civil Rights Movement changed that trajectory for me. The first thing I...

I think the Civil Rights Movement changed that trajectory for me. The first thing I...

I just don't think one person has that much to contribute to any subject.

I just don't think one person has that much to contribute to any subject.

Most people come out of their Ph.D. experience trying to prove themselves, trying to get...

Most people come out of their Ph.D. experience trying to prove themselves, trying to get...

And I used to think that proof that I had religion was whether I knew...

And I used to think that proof that I had religion was whether I knew...

Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who...

Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who...

The voice I have now, I got the first time I sang in a movement...

The voice I have now, I got the first time I sang in a movement...

The Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife, actually, was an effort to put something on the...

The Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife, actually, was an effort to put something on the...

One of the biggest things I understood in a program like that was that it...

One of the biggest things I understood in a program like that was that it...

I learned that if you bring black people together, you bring them together with a...

I learned that if you bring black people together, you bring them together with a...

In fact when Sweet Honey was ten years old it was too big for me...

In fact when Sweet Honey was ten years old it was too big for me...

I went to a church where you could not sing out loud in the service...

I went to a church where you could not sing out loud in the service...

Personally I discovered that you could go through the academy as a young scholar, come...

Personally I discovered that you could go through the academy as a young scholar, come...

I came out of the Civil Rights Movement, and I had a different kind of...

I came out of the Civil Rights Movement, and I had a different kind of...

The first job I had with the Smithsonian was as a field researcher among African...

The first job I had with the Smithsonian was as a field researcher among African...

I was at the Smithsonian for twenty years, and I'm still at the Smithsonian as...

I was at the Smithsonian for twenty years, and I'm still at the Smithsonian as...